Hillmon Buckingham

Lives Lived | Commissioner Hillmon Buckingham  - transformational leadership

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can tell you from experience that, except for a few masochistic personality types, the two least desirable appointments in TSA are Divisional Secretary and Chief Secretary. The hours are long, the abuse maximal and the rewards minimal, oftentimes at the beck and call of a position-inflated ego… or two if married. Again I speak from experience, although Doris was the exception.

In this writing, I pay tribute to another exception, Commissioner Hillmon Buckingham, who was recently Promoted to Glory.  To be appointed as his CS was like winning the lottery, when considering all of the other possible combinations out there. Let me tell you why.

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Cyril Bradwell

Lives Lived | Harold Hill on a rugby-playing Order of the Founder member

Cyril R. Bradwell OF, QSO, JP, BCom, ACA, MA, was Promoted to Glory from Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, on Thursday 27 November, aged 92. A man who has been part of our landscape for as long as we can remember has gone from us. And what a man of many parts he was: sportsman and athlete, soldier, teacher, missionary, scholar, archivist and historian, friend, husband and family man, Rotarian and Justice of the Peace, Salvationist and local officer. Shakespeare might well have written of him, as he did of Brutus, “His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up, and say to all the world, “This was a man!”

Born in Christchurch, Cyril was adopted by a Salvationist couple. His father went off in search of work in the Great Depression and never returned but his mother made great sacrifices to ensure he had an education. After Christchurch Technical College (they could not afford for him to take up a scholarship he won to Christ’s College), Cyril began working as a cadet in the Justice Department. He went on to Canterbury University and completed accountancy studies before World War II.

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Tags: Order of the Founder

Carpe Diem

A call for P to G’s

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n the Lives Lived section we want to feature P to G’s (for those outside of the Army, that means Promoted to Glory or obituaries). The lives of the saints inspire us and remind us that our time on this earth is short. So make the most of your time and send us tributes to those who have beaten the rest of us to glory. We prefer accounts of lives lived by those serving the Lord in The Salvation Army… but other accounts are welcome too.

Alida Bosshardt

Lives Lived  | Zoe Fay on the officer in the red brick house

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he journal entry of Lieutenant Colonel Alida Margaretha Bosshardt during her first year of service as an officer in the Netherlands is a chorus by Colonel Edward Joy. The lines from her journal were her credo, which became embodied through her actions and words.

All my days, and all my hours, All my will and all my powers, All the passion of my soul, Not a fragment, but the whole, Shall be Thine, dear Lord, Shall be Thine, dear Lord.

Bosshardt lived to re-connect broken relationships, from people to God and between neighbours. She endeavoured to bridge these gaps no matter how wide the distance. Bosshardt would often say to those asking for help, “Here is my hand”. She offered practical help, her work being that of a social service Salvation Army officer. Bosshardt knew that without salvation, and without her calling to be an evangelist, the work was only half done. › Continue reading

Lives lived: Bo Brekke

On September 27, 2007 the Territorial Commander of Pakistan, Colonel Bo Brekke was shot and killed. To read the official news release from IHQ, click here. To read the message to Army leaders from the Chief of the Staff, click here. See coverage of the murder by the Pakistan Christian Post, the Nation and The Pakistan Daily Times.

theRubicon asked Commissioner John Nelson (R) to remember Colonel Bo Brekke

The first in our new Lives Lived series.

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first met Bo and Birgitte about 24 years ago on the THQ compound in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Their home was an apartment on the second floor of one of the THQ buildings and my guest room was nearby. They invited me in for supper and coffee. I will never forget my impressions when I stepped into their very humble dwelling – it was beautiful. They knew how to take the simple things of life and arrange them in such a way to cause you to understand that this was a special place.

Update 4 October 2007: The funeral for Col. Bo Brekke is scheduled for Oct. 9th - click here to read the General’s announcement.

As we shared a meal together our conversation convinced me that they were people of vision, compassion, sensitivity, hard work and a deep desire to build the Kingdom of God through the ministry of The Salvation Army. Family was also very important to them and their two young sons. By the way, the coffee was excellent. I learned that their family in Norway kept them supplied with ground Norwegian coffee and they knew how to make it in the authentic European style. Over the years I enjoyed many more cups of good coffee with the Brekkes.

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